Continued: Monarch season arrives in Minnesota

“When the colors are really vivid, they’re ready to come out,” Oberhauser said. The just-hatched butterflies break the chrysalis open using their legs for leverage and carefully emerge. It can take four to six minutes for wings to expand and four to six hours before they’re ready to fly.

If you find a monarch caterpillar and want to put it into a container for safekeeping and to witness the transformation, it’s important to keep it stocked with fresh milkweed leaves each day.

“It’s not that hard to do,” Oberhauser said of keeping the caterpillar. ”The odds are, you’re saving their life. But more importantly, you’re making the connection with kids and adults with that amazing metamorphosis.”

Lisa Meyers McClintick (www. LisaMcClintick.com) is a St. Cloud-based freelance writer and photographer.